Costume
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Like many designers, Messel was fascinated by costume and crafts. He collected items not particularly because he was researching for a specific production, but simply because they took his fancy. He amassed a collection of hats and headdresses, including several from Eastern Europe, like this cap, which is probably Hungarian or Polish in origin. There is also the possibility that he wore some of them at fancy dress balls, which were a popular recreation among high society in the early and mid 20th century.
Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | felt, cotton |
Brief description | East European 'pillbox' cap. Oliver Messel Collection |
Physical description | 'Pillbox' cap of dark red felt, the sides stitched onto the round crown. The sides are completely overlaid with a black cotton openwork braid and bound at the lower edge with black cotton binding; at the back are fixed three short black cotton tassels. |
Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
Object history | Messel collected costume artefacts mostly out of interest in dress and crafts, not because he was necessarily researching a for a particular production. Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. |
Summary | Like many designers, Messel was fascinated by costume and crafts. He collected items not particularly because he was researching for a specific production, but simply because they took his fancy. He amassed a collection of hats and headdresses, including several from Eastern Europe, like this cap, which is probably Hungarian or Polish in origin. There is also the possibility that he wore some of them at fancy dress balls, which were a popular recreation among high society in the early and mid 20th century. Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas. |
Other number | ROT 8897 - TM Rotation Number |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.559-2006 |
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Record created | March 6, 2007 |
Record URL |
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